German youths upset that Filipinos denied visas for World Youth Day
By Michael Lawton
Catholic News Service
COLOGNE, Germany (CNS) -- Several young German Catholics said they are too disappointed to go to World Youth Day activities in Cologne after Filipino youths they sponsored did not get visas.
The four Filipinos they had invited to attend the Days in the Diocese ahead of the Aug. 16-21 World Youth Day activities were refused visas by the German Embassy in Manila, Philippines.
Britta Buker, 19, of St. Mary's Church in Waltrop, Germany, said parishioners were shocked over the refusal.
"We are very astonished. We were looking forward to their coming, and now one day before they should arrive, they're not able to come," she said.
Buker and some of the other young people have decided they are giving up on World Youth Day.
"I wanted to go there with the Filipinos,"she said, "but if they don't come, I don't have any real reason to go anymore."
The St. Mary's youth group decided to raise about $5,000 to help the Filipino students attend World Youth Day-related activities. The German youths learned about the Filipinos through the parish's pastoral assistant, Heiner Fehlker, who had contact with Assumption College in Manila.
The Days in the Diocese are designed so that pilgrims attending World Youth Day can spend time learning about the host country. St. Mary's youths raised the money and planned the program for a week's visit, and a day before the Filipinos were due to leave Fehlker called the German Embassy in Manila, which said the visas were ready.
But when one of the Filipinos arrived to pick up the papers, he was told they would not get visas after all. Fehlker said they cannot find out why the visas were refused.
A German Foreign Ministry spokesman would not comment on the specific case, but said while Germany wanted to present itself as an open and hospitable country it did not want to allow World Youth Day to be used for illegal immigration. After the 2002 World Youth Day in Toronto, about two dozen Cuban participants were said to have remained in Canada illegally.
Organizers of World Youth Day had arranged with the Foreign Ministry for participants to have easy access to free visas, providing they applied in person and had a supporting letter from their bishop. But Matthias Kopp, spokesman for World Youth Day, said there were some countries, like the Philippines, Cameroon and Togo, where participants had trouble obtaining visas.
The Foreign Ministry spokesman said that the Philippines was a country in which many visa applications were rejected, but that each case related to World Youth Day was considered with the organizers.
That is still little comfort to the 15 young people in Waltrop. Fehlker said the parish would still carry out some of the planned activities as a kind of consolation prize for the young people.
The Waltrop youths might still end up meeting the Filipinos: St. Mary's parishioners are trying to get back some of the money they spent on the air tickets, so that some of the young people could visit the Philippines instead, parish officials said.
no offense ha pero filipino rin to ang mali kasi sa atin ang hilig natin gumawa ng ilegal basta makakadali para sa atin di ba pano nakakapasok ang isang nissan skyline dito sa cebu or isang mitsubishi evolution na puro right hand drive instead of a left hand katigasan lang talaga ng ulo natin sabayan mo pa ng mga clowns sa house of representatives and jokers ng senate
sometimes feeling natin pag gumawa tayo ng mali cool na tayo am i right ba?
sometimes feeling natin pag gumawa tayo ng mali cool na tayo am i right ba?-- Edited by mikel11 at 20:32, 2005-08-23
Not for me. Pag nakakagawa ako ng mali, being "cool" is the last thing on my mind. Hindi ko na iniisip kung "cool" siya or hindi. Basta mali yung ginawa ko.
Palagay ko rin, para sa taong gumagawa ng maling bagay na katulad ng dinescribe mo, hindi na iniisip o binibigyan ng importansya ang pagiging "cool". Ang importante sa kanila yung kikitain, or paano makalusot.
mikel11 wrote: no offense ha pero filipino rin to ang mali kasi sa atin ang hilig natin gumawa ng ilegal basta makakadali para sa atin di ba pano nakakapasok ang isang nissan skyline dito sa cebu or isang mitsubishi evolution na puro right hand drive instead of a left hand katigasan lang talaga ng ulo natin sabayan mo pa ng mga clowns sa house of representatives and jokers ng senate sometimes feeling natin pag gumawa tayo ng mali cool na tayo am i right ba?-- Edited by mikel11 at 20:32, 2005-08-23
frankly speaking, ndi lang naman tayo ang mahilig gumawa nang illegal.. and you know what, halos lahat nang country may mga makukulit na tao na ginagawa ito. the only reason na ndi ito lumalabas sa lahat like some stinking news is because they keep it to themselves. why wash dirty linens sa harap nang madaming tao.?
and i don't think doing things na makakasira sa bayan ay cool.. to against the flow of things (to be red against a sea of black ) is ok lang pero to go against the law, well that's an entirely a different thing.
peace!
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Minsan sa buhay ang kailangan mo lang ay ang matulog.. sabi nang Mommy ko.
frankly speaking, ndi lang naman tayo ang mahilig gumawa nang illegal.. and you know what, halos lahat nang country may mga makukulit na tao na ginagawa ito.
I agree, Kai, there are bad apples in every kaeng in every country.
Kaya lang, Kai, hindi ka credible dito:
to against the flow of things (to be red against a sea of black ) is ok lang pero to go against the law, well that's an entirely a different thing. peace!
Eh, hindi ba nagbenta ka ng Beerkada books at pins sa labas ng GJ na walang permit? Aha! For piyansa, please
Este, illegal ba yung maglipat ng Beerkada books from one shelf to a better spot?
twistedkai wrote: frankly speaking, ndi lang naman tayo ang mahilig gumawa nang illegal.. and you know what, halos lahat nang country may mga makukulit na tao na ginagawa ito. I agree, Kai, there are bad apples in every kaeng in every country. Kaya lang, Kai, hindi ka credible dito: to against the flow of things (to be red against a sea of black ) is ok lang pero to go against the law, well that's an entirely a different thing. peace! Eh, hindi ba nagbenta ka ng Beerkada books at pins sa labas ng GJ na walang permit? Aha! For piyansa, please Este, illegal ba yung maglipat ng Beerkada books from one shelf to a better spot?
pero ms. jinky.. there are a lot more things that are done which are more punsihable than what i did.. what i did was out of "love for beekada and loyalty to it" i wasn't there for the money.. hehehehehe
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Minsan sa buhay ang kailangan mo lang ay ang matulog.. sabi nang Mommy ko.
pero ms. jinky.. there are a lot more things that are done which are more punsihable than what i did.. what i did was out of "love for beekada and loyalty to it" i wasn't there for the money.. hehehehehe
to kai and jinky: magkaiba naman kasi ang illegal at immoral/unethical. meron pang improper, impolite, etc. etc. illegal, against the written law. unethical goes against the culture or accepted norms and practices of the community..
selling beerkada is not against the ethics of the Beerkada community. ganun din ang pag-aayos ng libro.. re: legality.. uh.. importante ba yun?
ok lang yan wala naman nasusulat sa saligang batas ng pilipinas na bawal maglipat ng books sa national bookstore
sa sinabi ni lei tingin ko what is good for the society ito ba ay nakakasama or unethical sa iba? meron ka bang napeperwisyo na kapwa? if meron bakit mo pa gagawin
sometimes meron sinasabi ang ilan na hey mas magaling ako sa iyo wag mo ako pangungunahan or sometimes di naman masama kung papahuli ka
